Iraq sets new poll date on a day of carnage

Baghdad: Iraq on Tuesday set a long-awaited date for a general election next year, but later pushed it back by one day to March 7, amid political wrangling typical of the squabbles that have already delayed the vote.

The decision on the election date came as a series of coordinated attacks killed at least 127 people and wounded hundreds in Baghdad.

It was the worst day of violence in the Iraqi capital in more than two months.

Three car bombs struck near government sites in the Iraqi capital, the third time since August that government buildings were targeted by multiple blasts that brought massive casualties.

US timetable

A decision on the date for the election most likely allows US forces to stick to their timetable of ending combat operations in Iraq next August ahead of a full withdrawal by 2012.

March 7 comes after a constitutional deadline for the poll, but still 10 days before Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki's mandate expires, thus avoiding a political vacuum that could have undermined Iraq's fledgling steps towards democratic rule.

The ballot was initially expected in mid-January.